I argue that we possess tacit knowledges shaped by our lived experiences and the intersectional margins (borderlands) that define and constrain our societal interactions. These experiences lead to the development of implicit epistemologies that reflect who we are and who we can afford to be.
Additionally, I acknowledge the existence of a “dual consciousness” (Du Bois, 1903) in modern societies, where the self is fragmented due to divergent worldviews, and a heightened awareness of stereotypes and social biases that conflicts the real self with what society define for us as the social norms. It contraposes Modernity with its constant validation of the universal project, especially in ‘modern design’, and Plurality as a paradigm that recognizes the existence of many valid and diverse worldviews.
Recognizing that languages are markers of diverse cultural identities and have an intrinsic relationship with the lands that hold them, my current research emphasizes the significance of situated knowledge (Haraway, 1988) and relational accountability (Wilson, 2008). It seeks to bridge cosmologies between Paraguay and Canada, building kinships based on reciprocal values that come from the acknowledgement of the multiplicity of ways of knowing and being that exist in the world.
Utilizing land-bordering (1) as a methodology, this approach aims to untangle implicit epistemologies and facilitate connections between diverse worldviews within a framework of situated plurality, using language as a tool to ‘world the world’.
This work wants to connect these onto-epistemological landscapes that I belong to (Paraguay and Canada) and hopefully create wider and broader networks of cross-cultural knowledge production and dissemination, facilitating land-based design practices that are centered in a situated plurality, and have care, respect and relational accountability as reciprocal shared values.
To start unpacking how the Guarani language has been a ‘world-connector’ in Paraguayan territories, I am studying contemporary Indigenous women's voices in Paraguay, their matriarchal knowledge, and the relational accountability developed through the Paraguayan Guarani language. This language, used as a shared colloquial medium, allows them to communicate and build kinships among their different Indigenous Nations.
I am also exploring the role of language and motherhood in Indigenous women's experiences in Canada. As a Mestiza born and raised in Paraguay and currently living on unceded territories in Turtle Island (Canada), I am immersed in both landscapes. From my experience as a racialized woman in the Global North, I recognize the significant differences between these contexts. I aim to learn how bridging these cosmologies can open paths for cross-cultural knowledge creation, focusing on the importance of women in preserving ancestral knowledge and practices through maternal languages, or “lenguas madres.”
This approach is a way of recoding patriarchal colonial histories by understanding and learning how language serves as a catalyst to reaffirm cultural identity and self-determination in Indigenous women for the survivance of their cultures and their lands.
Through participatory design workshops, co-designing activities, weaving and storytelling encounters, the project also explores how co-creation and participatory design systems can constitute emergent co-generative research methodologies that can navigate the complexities and possibilities of plural-ontological practices in design.
(1) I utilize a methodology I developed called “Land-Bordering,” which captures the transmission of memories and lived experiences as they connect to the land and the intersections that influenced those experiences.
